Chicago Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said last week that the organization will wait for the doctors' green light before letting Derrick Rose come back from his torn ACL. Reinsdorf likened Rose’s situation to that of Michael Jordan’s in the 1985-86 season, when Jordan, according to Reinsdorf, may have come back to soon from a broken foot.

But Jordan, in response to Reinsdorf’s comments, said a player’s own feelings about when to return have to be seriously considered, and that Bulls limited his playing time late in the ’86 season in order to position themselves for the draft.

Derrick Rose's injury return is a hot topic among fans, the front office and even Michael Jordan. (AP Photo)

"The thing was, at the time, we were going through a rebuilding process, and I was practicing two hours a day and that was the thing that bothered me more than anything," Jordan told ESPNChicago.com’s Melissa Isaacson. "If I can go through two-hour practices, as intense as I practice, then when the game came, they gave me a seven-minute window (in each half) to play.

"That's when I felt more frustrated than anything. I felt more than anything they were positioning themselves for the draft and I didn't feel good being part of that. I felt I was an all-out player who didn't half-ass anything, and they wanted to move up (in the draft). I was a player, I wanted to play."

While there have been indications that Rose’s recovery is ahead of schedule, Reinsdorf insists the timing of his return will be the doctors’ call.

"I'm not going to let him back until the doctors tell me that it's absolutely safe for him to come back," Reinsdorf said. "I made that mistake with Michael Jordan years ago where I think we let him come back too soon. It worked out OK, but it might not have.

"This time I'm not going to make that mistake. Until the doctors say he's 100 percent and they put their reputations on the line, he's not coming back."

Jordan said, as owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, he now looks at things from a different angle.

“I have a unique perspective," Jordan said, per ESPNChicago.com. "I've been a player, I've been in that scenario, and I would definitely consult with the player and I would never take his opinion, desire or feelings for granted.